Three Again
by Obi-Wan'sPadawan
Summary: UPDATED 1001 It helps if you've seen '3' of Season Two. A case turns out to be more than Mulder and Scully expect when a demon from Mulder's past returns...
1. Default Chapter

Devenworth, VA

10:43 P.M.

The whir of machines could be heard miles away from the small town. It was a classical small town, with the main street, corner drugstore, and family doctor who still made house calls. Things went on just had they had for countless years. Until the factory was built. Then things began to change. Outside people began to move into the small town, some breaking the long-standing segregation of the town. The Civil Rights movement may have passed, but this town still seemed to live in the 50's.

The factory was built in 1989, for the manufacturing of auto parts, which would then be shipped to Michigan. It gave some five thousand people jobs, only five hundred of which were Devenworth natives.

Dameon Williams sighed and looked up at the clock. He was a large black man who worked in the factory. He'd moved here in 1993 for a chance of a better job and a better life. But so far it had not come to him yet. He was stuck in the same place for nine hours a day, sometimes longer. The pay wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either.

He smiled when the whistle blew, signaling the end of the workday. It was about time, too. Dameon had been working since 11 that morning. He took his gloves off and punched out of the time clock. He waved to a few of his buddies and they called him over. He went to them.

"Hey man. We was gonna head out to the bar tonight. You gonna come? Should be lots of girls," said one, named Charles Harden. The others nodded to Dameon, encouraging him to come. 

Dameon thought about it for a moment, then he nodded. "Yeah, why not?"

His friends smiled and told him where to meet them. Two hours later, Dameon was sitting by himself at the bar in a local club. A place like this would have been nonexistent in Devenworth before 1989, but now it flourished. It was a different kind of club, playing hard rock, techno, and industrial music. A place like that drew a different kind of crowd to it as well. Everywhere Dameon looked, there seemed to be bald men with tattoos on the back of their heads, longhaired men, and people with multiple piercings. _Freak bar_, Dameon thought to himself.

He heard someone sit in the stool beside him and smiled at the sight. It was a woman, easily one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. She looked over at him and saw his smile. She studied him for a moment before smiling back. She leaned forward and whispered something into his ear, and his smile widened. She fumbled in her purse for a moment, then held her finger out to him. He looked down at it. It was bleeding. He looked at her quizzically, and she put her finger closer to his lips. 

He smiled and opened his lips. She put her finger in his mouth and he licked the blood from it. _Hey, whatever works,_ he thought to himself. She smiled and grasped his arm. He followed her, and she led him to a motel.

Almost as soon as the door closed behind them, she was all over him. She kissed him all over, then began to nibble at his neck. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Then he felt a sharp pain in his neck and felt blood begin to flow. Then he heard a sickening sound. A sucking sound and he realized that this woman was sucking his blood! He freaked and pushed the woman off of him. He tried to get to the door, but someone heavier than the woman jumped him.

None of the other patrons of the motel heard his screams.


	2. Chapter Two

FBI Headquarters

Washington D.C.

Down in his basement office of the FBI headquarters, Special Agent Fox Mulder sat reclined in his chair, feet propped up on a cluttered desk. His office was unusually messy, even for him, but he didn't seem to care. All of his attention was directed in reading the folder he held in his hand.

He looked up only as he heard the door open. His partner, Dana Scully, stepped into his office. She looked around the office for a moment, then turned to him. "Mulder? What happened here?" she asked as she tried to get to his desk without stepping on anything.

He grinned. "Spring cleaning."

"It's the middle of October, Mulder."

"Better late than never." He set his feet on the floor and leaned forward. "Take a look at this, Scully."

She took the folder, giving him a suspicious glance, the opened it up. There were pictures of a crime scene and a police report. She looked back up at Mulder, who was shifting through the files on his desk. "What is this?"

"A murder that happened five days ago in a place called Devenworth. The victim's name is Dameon Williams, aged 27. He was found dead in a motel a few miles from his home." He stood up and pointed to a picture. "Police found human bite marks and needle punctures on the exterior jugular and median cubital veins."

Scully flipped a few pages. "I can see that Mulder. But why are you so interested in it?"

"Every mirror in the house was broken," Mulder said, seeming to ignore her question. "And there were writings on the wall in his blood."

Scully flipped a page to a photo of a bloody wall. "John 52:54. What is that?"

"_He who eats of my flesh and drinks of my blood shall have eternal life and I will raise then up on the last day_." Mulder recited.

Scully smiled. "At least you know your scripture. But I still don't see why you want me to look at this."

"There were a few cases like this earlier in the 90's. Six people died; three in Portland and three others in Memphis. And there were two in Los Angeles in 1994. I went to investigate the first murder; a man named Garret Lorre. This case right here of Dameon Williams is identical to that of Garret Lorre and seven others."

"Serial murderers?"

"In a way."

"Why do I get the feeling that you think there is something more to this?" Scully asked him as she set the folder down.

Mulder grinned. "You just know me all too well, Scully." He sat back in his chair. "When I was investigating the case of Garret Lorre, I started by looking up local blood banks. It seemed that whoever did this was taking the blood and storing it for later 'use'. We took a man into custody, a night guardsmen at a blood bank. He was put into an interrogation room, but he wouldn't answer our questions. He cried out in the light and said we were killing him."

"I finally got him to talk. He called himself 'the son'. Claimed that he could never die. But he wouldn't tell me who he was working with in the murders, so to play along with his beliefs, I stuck in a cell with windows that the sun would shine through." 

He handed Scully a file. She opened it and looked at the pictures. "Death scene of a John Doe." She looked up at Mulder quizzically.

He leaned back in his chair. "What do you think that man died of?"

She studied the picture for a moment. "Looks like burns from long exposure to extreme temperatures. And that's what it says here on the file too. Mulder-"

"That man was in the sun for about fifteen seconds before he became like that." Scully looked up him. Mulder had the most serious expression on his face. 

"Mulder, that's impossible. No one can end up like that after only a few seconds in the sun."

"He did."

Scully set down the folder. "I don't understand why you're telling me all this, Mulder. It just doesn't make any sense."

"Think about it Scully. What can't stand the sunlight, drinks blood, and gets its life from it?"

Scully thought for a moment, then scoffed. "Mulder, you can't be thinking that vampires did this. They don't even exist."

"But they do. I've talked to them. That man in that picture is what I believe to be a vampire."

"This man is dead. I thought vampires didn't die unless you...you put a stake through their heart or something."

"He's not dead, Scully. That's the thing. I saw that man after he 'died'. I saw him and was attacked by him. He's alive, Scully. And he's most likely at it again. Him and the others."

"Others?"

" 'The father, the son, and the unholy spirit'."

"I still don't understand completely. You think that this dead man is a vampire and is not really dead? He's still out there, drinking blood and killing people?"

"In a way, yes."

Scully turned away. "And just how are you going to get Skinner to give you this case? You can't tell him your little theory."

"He's already given it to me." Mulder reached into his pocket and pulled something out. He handed it to Scully. It was an airplane ticket, leaving that night for Raleigh, Scully looked back up at Mulder.

He grinned. "Hope you didn't make any plans for this weekend."

Hours later found Mulder and Scully stuck in a plane bound for Raleigh. Scully leaned her head against the window and was on the verge of falling asleep when she heard a crunching sound. She looked over a Mulder and wasn't surprised to see that he had stashed a bag of sunflower seeds onto the plane. He took the shell out of his mouth and began searching for somewhere to put it. Finally he settled for sticking them in the airsickness bag in the pouch in front of him. Scully watched him and smiled to herself. 

Mulder caught her gaze. "What? You want some?"

"No, Mulder. I was just wondering how it is that I keep getting dragged all over the U.S. with you."

"That's what you get when you join the FBI, Scully."

"What? Traveling all the time?"

"That and no family, no personal time, and no real chance of a relationship."

"Is that why you have that collection of videos in your office?"

"Hey, whatever you find in that office is confidential. And they're not mine."

Scully smiled and turned her attention back to the window. After a while the only things she really noticed were the clouds going by and the constant crunching of Mulder's sunflower seeds. There was something about all that that made her comfortable. She couldn't explain.


	3. Chapter Three

Another hour later they stepped out of the airport and rented a car. Scully sighed as she got into the passenger's seat. It would be another two hours before they reached Devenworth. Mulder got into the driver's seat moments later, a freshly bought bag of his favorite snack in his hand. They didn't speak very much during the drive. Mulder was lost in though while he drove, and Scully was busy reviewing the file. It was an uncomfortable silence.

Scully looked up at Mulder's passive face. It was almost as if there was more to this assignment then he was telling her. But she didn't pry; she never pried into his private business. She only did so if she thought that something he was holding to himself was potentially dangerous. This didn't seem to be the case. She wasn't sure what was wrong.

She did notice, however, that his eyes became kind of glazed. She put her hand on his arm. "Mulder? Do you want me to drive?"

He blinked. "Yeah. Yeah, why not. I haven't been sleeping so well lately."

"When did you start having sleeping problems again?"

"Uh," Mulder squinted as he thought. "I haven't slept well since Monday."

Scully frowned and looked down at the folder. Dameon Williams had been murdered on Sunday, and Mulder must have gotten wind of it soon afterwards. _Was something about the case causing him to lose sleep?_ she wondered. _What could possibly bother Mulder so much?_

Scully pulled into the parking lot of a hotel an hour later in Devenworth. Mulder, who never fell slept in a car, had actually fallen asleep mere minutes after Scully took over. She parked the car in a reasonable spot and turned off the engine. She turned to wake Mulder up, but found herself just watching him sleep. Deciding against waking him from what little sleep he would get, she stepped out of the car herself, locking the door behind her. She walked up to the main office of the hotel, acutely aware of her surroundings.

She stepped into the office, and heard the tell-tale ringing of a bell that announced her arrival. Not even a minute later, a wiry old man stepped up to the counter.

"What can I help you with, ma'am?" he asked, looking at her in a way that made her wish she had woken Mulder up.

"I need two rooms, please. And I'm not sure how long we're going to be here."

"We?" the man asked, looking behind her.

"My partner and I," she answered, gesturing to the locked car.

"Riiight," he said, then turned to the fifteen-year-old computer on his desk. He tapped a few keys, then turned back to Scully. "You want rooms right next to each other?" Scully nodded in reply. He went back to typing in keys for another long moment before grabbing two keys from the hooks behind him. "607 and 608." He handed the keys to her, letting his hand brush hers. Scully shot him a go-to-hell look and tucked the keys in her pocket. 

"How much is it a night?"

"Eighty-one dollars. For both rooms. They have cable, too."

Scully nodded, wishing once again that Mulder was here to reply with a smart-alec comment. She nodded her thanks, then signed the forms that he thrust at her. After she finished, he gave her a toothy smile.

"Have fun."

Scully nodded and stepped out of the office, glad to be out. She walked quickly back to the car and got in. She leaned over and gently shook Mulder. It took a moment, but he awoke with a start, jumping forward in his seat.

"Wha...What is it?" he asked groggily, turning to look at Scully.

She smiled. "Nothing, Mulder. We're there, though."

He blinked, then nodded. "Oh, good. What happened? Did I fall asleep?"

"About five minutes after I took over."

"Hm." He grinned. "Sorry. I should have been helping you stay awake," he said, judging by her weary expression.

"It's all right, Mulder. You needed the rest."

He sighed and stretched out his arms the best he could in the small car before getting out. He looked around for a moment at the small hotel, that actually looked very well kept. "Not a bad place."

"Yeah, except for the clerk inside." she said almost under her breath. She opened the trunk of the car and grabbed her bags, with Mulder grabbing his right behind her. Scully made sure to lock the car before going off to search for their rooms. They finally found them, and traded the extra keycard so that both would have access to the other's room. They said good-night, then went into their rooms.

Mulder tossed his bag onto the floor and immediately plopped down into the nearest chair, running his hand over his face. He felt so tired, not like he'd ever been before. He felt like he could have fallen asleep right then, but managed to make it through a shower before he crashed, asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Scully, also, went to sleep almost immediately. She managed to put her clothes up, take a shower, and brush her teeth before she too, fell into a restless sleep.


	4. Chapter Four

The next morning found Mulder driving the small car to the local police station with Scully in the passenger seat. Looking at him now, Scully could see that sleep had done a good deal of help for him. He seemed to have more color in his face and was all-in-all in a better mood. He was tapping his hands on the steering wheel to the beat of the song on the radio, something she considered normal.

He turned to her suddenly. "So tell me, Scully. What do you think about this case so far?"

"So far, we don't have much at all. We have your wild ideas, as usual. But other than that, all we have is one dead body that I have yet to see."

Mulder nodded. "True. Just like always?"

"Hmm." Scully said in reply as she turned back to the window.

They arrived at the station mere moments later. Mulder pulled up to the nearest open parking place, then stepped briskly from the car. He squinted in the bright sun, and, covering his eyes with his hand, studied the small building. He turned to Scully, who was grabbing some stuff.

"Kinda remind you of an old western?"

Scully looked up at the small building. "Not really, Mulder."

Mulder smiled and shook his head, then grabbed a bag for Scully. She nodded her thanks, then headed toward the entrance. They stepped inside the small lobby area, and were immediately scrutinized by a bony secretary, who seemed very interested in Mulder. She stepped forward closer to the glass that separated her from the FBI agents. 

"Can I help you folks with something?"

Mulder nodded and reached into his trench coat. The woman tensed, not knowing what to expect, but he simply pulled out his badge. Flashing it at her, he said, "I'm Special Agent Mulder, and this is Special Agent Scully. We're with the FBI. We were called out here to investigate a case."

The woman nodded. "Case number?"

"625938." Mulder recited, having looked at it so many times that he knew it by heart. Scully shook her head, thinking he had spent _too_ much time looking at it.

The woman nodded again and began typing on her keyboard. She was still doing this when a deputy stepped through a side door. He glanced at Mulder, then to Scully. "You the FBI people?" he asked, judging by their stuffy suits and jackets. Mulder nodded. "Deputy Brian Harris," he said, extending his hand.

Mulder shook it. "Mulder." He indicated Scully, who smiled politely. "This is Scully."

Harris nodded. "Nice to meet ya'll. You want to go ahead and see the body, or do you want to see the crime scene?"

Mulder turned to Scully for the answer. She sighed. "Let's see the body first," she answered, still looking at Mulder.

Harris nodded. "Alright. Well, he's up at the morgue. Good thing you guys came. We wouldn't have been able to hold the body too much longer."

The agents both nodded, the followed the deputy as he led them into the back of the station, the secretary still watching Mulder's every move. In a matter of moments they reached one of the smallest morgues Scully had ever seen. There were only three things to put the bodies on, and the autopsy table was in the very same room. To her, it looked very cramped. She sighed, knowing Mulder would ask her to do an autopsy.

"Here you go," Harris was saying as he grabbed one of the handles to the body holders. It pulled out easily, revealing a large black man. Mulder stepped closer as he pulled a pair of gloves on.

"Look here, Scully," he said, pointing to two small puncture holes on the man's neck. He looked up and smiled. "Looks kinda suspicious to me."

Scully shook her head at his sarcasm and pulled on a pair of gloves herself. She began to look over the rest of the body, finding similar holes on the arms. Other than that, Scully could only find a few large holes, probably made by a knife.

She looked up at the deputy. "What was this man's cause of death?" she asked.

Harris shrugged. "We're not entirely sure. We don't get many murders around here, so there is no reason to ever have to perform autopsies. We just don't have the staff. But you're welcome to see if you want to."

Mulder turned to Scully and grinned mischievously. "Have fun."


	5. Chapter Five

Scully frowned as she donned her gloves. She'd known that she was going to have to perform an autopsy, so why was it that she found it so hard to concentrate? Her thoughts kept going to Mulder, and the slight haunted look he had in his eyes. Something about the case hit close to home for him. But what? Scully couldn't figure it out.

There was no way that she could find out on her own, either. Looking back at the date of the case Mulder had taken years before, she realized that it was during the time that she had been missing. The case was also still labeled as Unsolved, which really wasn't at all uncommon with Mulder's work.

She shook her head. She really needed to finish, or start, rather, the autopsy. Mulder had gone to Harris's office to read the police report and get the whole story on what evidence had been found. Looking through the small window of the door, she could see the closed door of the deputy's office. She actually wished that she were in there, instead of doing this.

Scully sighed. This was her job, she thought as she began the Y-incision.

Meanwhile, Mulder sat uncomfortably in his too-small chair in the deputies office. Everything in the man's office seemed to be very short. The desk itself seemed to only come up past their knees. Mulder shook his head in irritation then turned back to the deputy.

"So, you guys just found him in the hotel?" he asked the deputy.

"No, actually it was the owner of the place who found him. She was going out there to tell them that it was way past check-out time. Said the door was partially open, so she just went in." Harris laughed slightly. "Poor woman's probably still in the hospital from shock."

"Did you check for fingerprints, DNA?"

"Geez, man. This isn't D.C. We just don't have all of that technology out here." He pointed a finger at Mulder. "But we did dust for fingerprints. But do you see a problem with dusting for prints in a hotel?"

Mulder thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. Too many people could have used that room, leaving their prints behind. The landlady, cleaning crew, other customers." Mulder shook his head. "So all we have is a body."

"We also have a description of a woman that the victim's friends gave us. According to them, Mr. Williams left the club with a woman." The deputy dug through a drawer for a moment, then pulled out a file. "We did manage to get a sketch artist to draw up a sketch of the woman, according to the friends' descriptions."

He handed the file to Mulder, who stared at it for a moment before opening it. There were dozens of other, useless papers in the file, but the last one took Mulder's breath away. He covered his eyes with his hand for a moment. A rough sketch of a beautiful black-haired woman stared blankly up at him. Dark memories suddenly flooded Mulder's memory, memories he'd pushed away since Scully's return.

"Mr. Mulder? Mulder?" the deputy asked, confused about the agent's reaction. "What is it?"

Mulder looked up at him, his eyes lost in the past. "The Unholy Spirit," he said quietly.


	6. Chapter Six

Scully sighed as she finished stitching the body back together. It had taken her forever to get started, but she had finally finished the autopsy.

She covered the body then stepped back, pulling off the breath mask and gloves. "Cause of death," she said for the benefit of her tape recorder, "is determined to be severe loss of blood, along with multiple stab wounds to the spine and liver. Further analysis will need to be done to check for the presence of any drugs in the body."

She sighed again and turned off the light of the small examining room. _Someone else can clean up for once_, she thought to herself. Then she glanced at a clock. It was nine o'clock already. She shook her head. _Another day spent in the examining room._ She was ready to tell Mulder that the next time he wanted an autopsy done on a whim, that he could do it. She wasn't serious, but it was a humorous thought. Mulder leaning over a body, wondering what the heck to do. Scully smiled at the thought as she shut the door behind her.

She went to the deputy's office, but of course Mulder wasn't there. She checked the parking lot, and their rental car was still there. She frowned and went in search of someone who could help her find Mulder. She searched for a few moments, then found the receptionist in a lounge, pouring herself some coffee.

"Excuse me," Scully said.

The woman jumped in surprise, spilling a little of the coffee. She looked up at Scully and sighed in relief. "Oh, it's only you."

Scully nodded. "Yeah. Do you know where my partner went? Our car's still out front, but I can't find him."

"Agent Mulder? He went back to the hotel you're staying at. He didn't want to leave you stranded here, so Deputy Harris gave him a lift." She shook her head. "Wish I had someone to do that for me. My husband drops me off in the morning, then picks me up when he remembers to."

Scully nodded. "Yeah. Did he leave the keys here, by chance? I don't have them."

"Oh! Yes," the woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a car key on a keyring. "He gave it to me before he left and told me to give it to you." She handed it to Scully and smiled. "He's so nice. Cute too."

"Hmm," Scully said as she stuck the key into her pocket, deliberately avoiding the question. She looked up at the receptionist. "Well, thank you..."

"Jane," the woman supplied.

"Yes. Thank you, Jane, for keeping a hold of this for me. I guess we'll be back in the morning."

"Nice to meet you, Agent Scully."

Scully nodded as she walked out of the room. Her thoughts as she walked to the car were of the case, but they vanished once she was in the car. Now they were just a jumbled mess. She shook her head in slight irritation as she moved the seat forward so her feet could reach the pedals, telling herself to remind Mulder to do it for her.

She drove back to the hotel without any problems. She pulled into a spot in front of her and Mulder's rooms and got out. She glanced at Mulder's room, noting that it was dark. She glanced at her watch. It was only 9:30. Was Mulder asleep already? It was very unlike him. 

Concerned for her partner, Scully approached the door to his room and pulled out the keycard. He had been acting odd ever since they'd arrived, or rather when he got the case. She put the keycard into the slot and slowly opened the door.

"Mulder?" she called softly as she peered into his room. The lights were off, and the bed was empty. She frowned; where was he? She turned to look near the window when the soft sound of breathing caught her attention. Mulder was sitting in a chair by the window, asleep. His tie was on the floor, along with his coat, and he had unbuttoned some of his shirt.

Scully didn't find that odd, however. What she found odd was that he was sleeping in a chair and that there was an assortment of odd items on the table beside him. As she walked closer, she saw them to be glasses and a bottle of something. She picked up the bottle and smelled the contents. Vodka, she concluded. _Why was Mulder drinking?_ She'd known Mulder long enough to know that he only drank when something bothered him a great deal.

She walked up to him and sat on the bed, which was right across from where he sat. She didn't know how much he had had to drink, but she wanted to talk to him. _Needed_ to talk to him. Needed to find out what about this case had him so disturbed. She gently shook his arm.

He groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He looked around for a moment, confused, then his eyes rested on Scully, who was turning on a light. "Wha?" he said groggily as he straightened up in the chair. He looked over to the table and saw the bottle. He grasped it for a moment, just looking at it, then he pushed it away.

"Mulder?" Scully said quietly. He turned to her, his face haggard. "What is it, what's wrong?"

Mulder shook his head. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong," he said, turning away from her.

"You're a bad liar, Mulder," she said as she forced him to look at her again. "Something about this case bothers you, a lot. Or else you wouldn't have that," she pointed to the alcohol on the table.

Mulder sighed and ran a hand over his face. Scully could only stare at him with concern. She'd never seen him act like this. Finally Mulder leaned forward.

"I've been through this before, this case, I mean."

"I know, you took it a few years ago."

Mulder nodded, his eyes distant. "You weren't there. You weren't...anywhere." He met her eyes for a moment, then quickly looked away. "I felt lost, I really did. I took this case on my own. It was almost the same as this Williams case." Mulder sighed again, the proceeded to tell Scully all about what had happened. Taking the case, finding 'the son', meeting Kristin, everything. When he finished, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Scully was quiet for a moment. "Did you love her?" she suddenly asked.

Mulder's eyes opened slowly and he sat forward. "How could I? I was...Never mind. I don't think I really came to love her, but there was a promise."

"A promise?"

"You know, just the promise of something more."

Scully shook her head and placed a gentle hand on Mulder's shoulder. "It'll be alright. We could go back to Washington, you know. If this case is too much for you."

Mulder smiled. "I told you the very same thing once. But no, I won't go home. I want to finish this once and for all."

"And we will," Scully said, smiling. She reached over and grabbed the bottle from the table. "Without this."

Mulder smiled. "Right."


	7. Chapter Seven

Scully stood outside the next morning, watching as dark grey clouds made their way across the sky. She'd left Mulder the previous night to sleep off whatever he'd had to drink, and to let him think. His little revelation surprised her. She'd had no idea that this case was so close to Mulder's personal life. Skinner couldn't know either, or he'd never have assigned it to them. He'd have just dumped it on Scully alone.

She turned when she heard the door to Mulder's room open. Mulder stepped out and smiled almost sheepishly at her as he closed the door behind him.

"You look better," she commented as she opened the passenger's side door.

He shook his head, smiling. "I feel better."

"You were a mess last night."

"Hey, I didn't have _that_ much to drink."

"How do I know that?"

He smiled. "You've never seen _me_ drunk. Trust me."

Scully smiled back at him. "Get in the car, Mulder. I'm driving."

Mulder looked as if he were pouting. "But I wanted to."

"Get in, _now."_

Mulder held up his hands in mock surrender and stepped into the car. He was buckling his seat belt when Scully got in as well. She started the car quickly, then began to dig through papers in the back seat. Mulder watched her curiously, and was then handed a thin folder. He opened it as Scully pulled out of the motel parking lot.

He flipped through the pages of photos and notes made by Scully. "Paperwork was never my strongpoint, Scully. Tell me what all of this means."

"Cause of death was loss of blood, likely caused by the multiple stab wounds I found on the victim's body. Those two little 'bite' marks you saw seem to be needle punctures." She looked over at Mulder. "There are no vampires."

Mulder shook his head. "There are. I know there is."

"Mulder, you have no way of knowing. Vampires are a just a myth, spun by the ignorance of early people."

Mulder smiled. "I've heard that before, last time I investigated these vampires."

"Well, facts don't change."

He shook his head. "But the facts can be misleading, or even misread. I've dealt with this before, Scully. I know these people. I know how they act. They're supposed to be dead..."

"I thought vampires didn't die."

"Not unless killed by one of their own."

"Well, why was the case closed in 94?"

He looked out of the window at the passing scenery. "Well, all they found were the ashes of four bodies. I assumed, somehow, that they had been killed. Guess I was wrong."


	8. Chapter Eight

****

Hmm... I thought no one was reading this story. But I guess someone is! I too like the episode '3', even though most X-Philes don't. I can't explain why, it just kinda caught my attention. ANywHo, now that someone is actually reading this, I suppose I'll start working on it again. 

Scully stood outside the next morning, watching as dark grey clouds made their way across the sky. She'd left Mulder the previous night to sleep off whatever he'd had to drink, and to let him think. His little revelation surprised her. She'd had no idea that this case was so close to Mulder's personal life. Skinner couldn't know either, or he'd never have assigned it to them. He'd have just dumped it on Scully alone.

She turned when she heard the door to Mulder's room open. Mulder stepped out and smiled almost sheepishly at her as he closed the door behind him.

"You look better," she commented as she opened the passenger's side door.

He shook his head, smiling. "I feel better."

"You were a mess last night."

"Hey, I didn't have _that_ much to drink."

"How do I know that?"

He smiled. "You've never seen _me_ drunk. Trust me."

Scully smiled back at him. "Get in the car, Mulder. I'm driving."

Mulder looked as if he were pouting. "But I want to."

"Get in, _now."_

Mulder held up his hands in mock surrender and stepped into the car. He was buckling his seat belt when Scully got in as well. She started the car quickly, then began to dig through papers in the back seat. Mulder watched her curiously, and was then handed a thin folder. He opened it as Scully pulled out of the motel parking lot.

He flipped through the pages of photos and notes made by Scully. "Paperwork was never my strongpoint, Scully. Tell me what all of this means."

"Cause of death was loss of blood, likely caused by the multiple stab wounds I found on the victim's body. Those two little 'bite' marks you saw seem to be needle punctures." She looked over at Mulder. "There are no vampires."

Mulder shook his head. "There are. I know there is."

"Mulder, you have no way of knowing. Vampires are a just a myth, spun by the ignorance of early people."

Mulder smiled. "I've heard that before, last time I investigated these vampires."

"Well, facts don't change."

He shook his head. "But the facts can be misleading, or even misread. I've dealt with this before, Scully. I know these people. I know how they act. They're supposed to be dead..."

"I thought vampires didn't die."

"Not unless killed by one of their own."

"Well, why was the case closed in 94?"

He looked out of the window at the passing scenery. "Well, all they found were the ashes of four bodies. I assumed, somehow, that they had been killed. Guess I was wrong."

Scully didn't say anything, just concentrated on her driving. She watched Mulder out of the corner of her eye for a moment. He was staring out of the window now, a thoughtful expression on his face. Scully once again wanted to ask him what was wrong, or even beat it out of him, but she knew that it would do no good. Once Fox Mulder closed up, it was hard to get him to open up again.

She pulled into the police station and parked. They stepped out of the car, and were surprised to see a police car pull up behind them quickly. The agents stood confused for a moment, until the doors opened and Deputy Harris stepped out. "You're going to have to come with me. There's been another murder."


	9. Chapter Nine

Mulder squinted in the sunlight, shielding his eyes with his hand. Was it really that bright out of was he suffering from a hangover? Hell, it'd been so long since his last hangover that he really couldn't remember. It didn't seem like it should be as bright as it was, with the dark clouds slowly making their way across the sky, thunder a warning of rain.

He turned back to the wood. Hidden in the trees were the bodies of Edgar Peabody, age 42, and his wife, Madeline, age 39. They had been found earlier that morning by a couple of boys, who had immediately run home to tell their mother what they had found. 

The manner by which they were killed was identical of the murder Mulder and Scully had been called to solve in the first place. The police hadn't been very sure, so they had come to get the agents.

Mulder looked up at Scully approached him, pulling off her gloves. She sighed. "Human bite marks and needle punctures on the exterior jugular and median cubital veins, along with multiple stab wounds to the spine and liver. Cause of death right now is determined to be loss of blood." Scully shook her head.

"Identical to our Mr. Williams," Mulder commented, staring thoughtfully into the trees.

"Looks like we have a serial killer here, Mulder. No one had enough information to commit a copy-cat murder."

Mulder nodded as a shaky Deputy Harris stepped up to them. "You'll have to excuse me. We've...we've never had anything like this happen before. You need to understand, this is a small town. The worst kind of things we get are kids stealing candy from the drugstore. This is really gonna mess the town up."

"I understand that, sir. We'll find however did this," Scully reassured him.

Harris nodded before walking off to join his equally shocked deputies. Mulder shook his head. "He's right. They're way out of their league." He looked around again. "I'm going to look around in the forest, see if the killers left any prints or anything."

Scully nodded. "I'm going to get them to bring the bodies back to the coroner's office. I'm pretty sure what I'm going to find, but I want to make sure there's nothing else."

Moments later, Mulder found himself staring down at the bodies of Edgar and Madeline Peabody. There were horrendous knife wounds all about their body, but there was a surprisingly small amount of blood on the forest floor. He frowned. _Definitely vampires_, he thought to himself. He began walking away from the bodies, heading towards the nearest road, staring intently at the ground in search of a clue.

He knelt down. There, in the moss, was a foot print. It wasn't very clear, but he knew that none of the police had been this far from the bodies yet. And it was too big to be one of the boys' who had found the bodies. He ran his finger over it lightly. Whoever had made it wore about the same size shoe as he, but slightly smaller.

Mulder frowned and continued in the direction the footstep was heading until he reached the road. Then he stopped and began to think. He glanced in the direction of the bodies once, noticing that he could still see them from this distance. He shook his head and continued to put the pieces together.

An SUV suddenly flew around the corner, tired squealing as it did. Mulder looked up and leapt out of the way, but the SUV turned toward him again. It slowed and stopped right in front or him, and he found himself staring into the barrel of a gun.

"Get in," an old familiar voice told him, and he saw the familiar features of a face that only haunted his dreams. "Get in!" Kristin repeated, waving the gun threateningly. 


End file.
